1. Field
At least one example embodiment of the present disclosure relates to semiconductor films, methods of forming the same, transistors including semiconductor films, and/or methods of manufacturing the transistors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transistors are widely used as switching devices or as driving devices in electronic devices. In particular, because a thin film transistor (TFT) may be manufactured on a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, TFTs are typically used in display apparatuses such as organic light-emitting display apparatuses or liquid crystal display apparatuses. The performance of a TFT may mostly depend on properties of a channel layer (semiconductor layer).
Most commercially available display devices typically use a TFT including a channel layer formed of amorphous silicon (hereinafter, referred to as an amorphous silicon TFT), or a TFT including a channel layer formed of polycrystalline silicon (hereinafter, referred to as a polycrystalline silicon TFT). An amorphous silicon TFT presents a disadvantage in that since a charge mobility is typically about 0.5 cm2/Vs, which is typically considered to be low, it is difficult to increase an operating speed of a display apparatus using the amorphous silicon TFT. A polycrystalline silicon TFT presents a disadvantage in that because crystallization, impurity doping, and activation processes are required, the manufacturing process of a polycrystalline silicon TFT is more complex, and manufacturing costs are typically higher than for an amorphous silicon TFT. Also, the polycrystalline silicon TFT presents a disadvantage in that, because it is difficult to ensure uniformity of a polycrystalline silicon layer, image quality is reduced when the polycrystalline silicon layer is used as a channel layer of a large-size display apparatus.
In order to realize a next generation high-performance/high-resolution/large-size display apparatus, a TFT having excellent performance is desired. In this regard, research has been conducted on an oxide TFT using an oxide semiconductor having a high carrier mobility as a material for a channel layer. However, a conventional oxide TFT may not ensure excellent switching characteristics (ON/OFF characteristics) and high reliability. Accordingly, there is a demand for a channel layer material (semiconductor) for manufacturing a transistor (TFT) having high mobility, excellent switching characteristics, and high reliability.